Home
by Headbanger Rockstar
Summary: After a long time apart, two lovers are reunited. Slash, but not graphic. May grow into something else, haven't decided yet. Also works as a one shot. Rated K .


_Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing. NCIS & its characters are property of CBS and Bellisario Productions._

 _Author's Note: So life happens! Been crazy busy, but the other stories are brewing even as we speak. This little one shot popped into my head this morning. Not betaed. Enjoy!_

 **Home  
** By Headbanger_Rockstar

Standing at the airfield, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs could hardly contain his excitement. After nearly a year—317 days to be exact—his partner, his best friend, his husband, his _everything_ was on his way home. He waited anxiously, their closest friends—their family—by his side. His friends had been wonderful to draw him out, come visit him when he wanted to stay in, showed up at the office on Saturdays when Gibbs would go sit at his desk and clear out his email box just so he didn't have to sit at home and listen to the stale silence that filled the house from the moment he'd been left there alone.

He and Tony had known at the outset that deployments would be difficult, that their relationship would be challenged by their recurrence. Gibbs understood this, had experienced it once already when he was married to his beloved Shannon all those years ago. But he'd never been on the other side. He'd always been the one to leave, never the one to be left. It ached in his chest and twisted in his stomach…God it was miserable. The brief moments of communication they'd had, few and far between, were treasured times and he thought of them fondly and often.

He glanced to his left, feeling the smile wanting to tug across his features as he saw a plane in the sky that wasn't visible only a few moments before. Kate, standing beside him, was also smiling. Her face glowed in the sunlight and he knew that she'd missed her friend as well. To his right, Abby stood with Tim, holding his hand and bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, black lace collar sweeping around her neck and parasol held firmly over her head to block the burning sun. Tim looked happy but nervous; indeed, none of their friends knew quite what to expect.

Gibbs knew. This wasn't their first deployment, though he hoped it would be the last. He always hoped it would be the last. He was getting much too old for this. They both were.

Blue eyes followed the tremendous aircraft as it drifted smoothly to the ground, touching with only a light scuff of tires on pavement. Then he was moving, heading for the gate before anyone could stop him. The giant silver bird gleamed in the sunlight, nearly blinding if you stood at the right angle. Gibbs wasn't looking at the plane though. He had eyes only for the door which was now sliding open. He stood just inside the gate, waiting to make visual before rushing the plane.

Men and women started to emerge from the plane, donning covers and pulling packs from the plane as they departed. Enough of the debriefing had been done so there shouldn't be any delay in getting to go home. Gibbs knew the others wanted their time with their friend, but he was adamant when he said to let his partner make the call. No one knew if he'd be keyed up, exhausted, or some strange combination of both. Gibbs was sure there was no mention of injury, but he wouldn't put it past Tony to "forget" to tell him, either. Ducky was called away by a case, but assured Jethro he was only a phone call away if Tony needed him.

His searching blue eyes watched as fifty, seventy-five, a hundred people departed the aircraft. His face burst into a smile and Gibbs' feet were on the move when he saw the familiar frame step down from the plane, sliding his cover onto his head and glance around.

Master Sergeant Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. sucked in his first deep breath of American air in nearly a year. He picked his pack up off the ground and glanced up, wondering where his family was. He knew they'd be here; they always came for him. He made it three steps before he saw the smiling face of his partner rushing toward him and felt his own face split into the widest grin his face could produce. He too, rushed forward, dropping his pack just as Gibbs reached him.

Beyond Gibbs, he could see their friends, holding back, letting them have their reunion. There would be time enough to see them later. For now, though, there was only the man in front of him.

Tony reached out, cupping Gibbs' face in his hands, staring deep into the azure pools staring so intently at him, and he knew he was truly home. He smiled even wider, thumbs rubbing lightly over Gibbs' cheeks, feeling the barely-there five-o'clock shadow and the surprisingly soft silver hair of the gruff man before him. Jethro didn't look gruff today. He looked as happy as Tony felt—as if he would explode if he had to wait another moment.

Without hesitation, he dragged Gibbs in for a kiss. He felt blunt fingers brushing across his own face, knocking the cover from his head and those fingers pushed through his hair to pull his head closer. It wasn't a fight for dominance. It was a re-joining of two souls. Two halves separated, now complete once again. Their lips met with bruising force, tongues and teeth colliding as they tried to draw the other impossibly closer. After several moments, Tony broke the kiss and wrapped his arms tightly around Jethro's neck, hugging him tightly.

"I missed you," he whispered to his husband. "I love you I missed you I just missed you so much I love you," he rambled, peppering his words with kisses to Jethro's cheek and neck and ear and how, oh how, could he, did he ever leave?

Jethro returned the hug, holding his partner close. "Shhhh hey easy," he soothed, feeling the near frantic, spastic energy that practically vibrated through Tony. "You're home. It's over. I love you so much. I missed you Tony. You're home. Everyone's here, too."

Tony hugged Jethro tighter for a moment, reluctant to let go. "Don't wanna see them," he whispered. "Only want you now. I missed you so much. Thought I'd die waiting to see you again. I don't want to be with everyone today…Is that bad?" Green eyes tinged with worry at the thought of hurting his friends.

"Isn't bad," Gibbs said easily. "We'll say hello, then I'll run 'em off. They can have you later. Waited a year to see you. Want you all to myself today. Tomorrow. Always," he smiled.

Tony let out a breathy laugh that sounded suspiciously as though it was hiding a hitching sob.

Gibbs cupped Tony's cheeks in his hands. "You're home. I've got you. I don't know how I ever let you go. Hate it when you're gone."

Tony hugged him again, burying his face in Jethro's shoulder, just wanting to breathe in the scent of the man he'd missed for so long. "There's so much to say. So much to tell you," he mumbled.

"Time for all that later," Gibbs said gently. He gently broke the embrace and picked up Tony's cover from the ground where he'd hastily knocked it. He placed it gently on his husband's head and straightened it before picking up Tony's pack. "Let's go say hi to everyone then get out of here. What do ya say?"

Tony smiled. "For 317 days all I've wanted was to come home. I don't ever want to leave again. Please take me home."

There would be other deployments. They both knew that. It was part of their life, as natural a cycle as the seasons. Some months they would be together, others apart. They would cherish the time they shared to carry them through the time they were apart.

"Come on lover boy," Gibbs' eyes twinkled in the sunlight. Or was it happiness? "Let's go home."


End file.
